Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1887-07-14
Notes by the Way.
Grand I.iaud-broken now.


ney through here. The space left vacan
from Boone, Iowa, to Grand Island, viii
be filled up from notes already taker
and given later.
Grand Island is the county scat OF
Hall county, Nebraska, and on the
Platte river. 1t has four railroads. The
workshops of the U. p. X. r. are here
also the branch shops of the B. & NJ
r. r. Consequently it is quite a bust
ness place so far as railroads are con.
cerned. From Grand Island we tray,
elled northwest along the line of the
b. Il NJ to Cairo. Some very good
farms along the line but great deal Of
sand in the soil. This section of the
country was very dry and it was here
we experienced our first Nebraska wind
storm. As we neared Abbot the wind
began to rise and by the time we reached
there, or rather before we reached there,
we had to stop and take the covers of
our wagons as it was tearing them, and
the sand was blowing so man could
hardly look up. The crops looked fair
for all the sand and dry weather. When
we got in to the northwestern part of Hull
county, among the sand hills you could
find thousands of acres of sand. Along
the draws you would find small pieces
of land that would raise good corn, but
where some men attempted to raise oats
they made failure of it. Three miles
northwest of Cairo, we stayed nearly
two weeks. A part of that time we
tested the toughness of Nebraska sod
and it was tough and dry. Along the
bottom land on the Nebraska on the
North Loup the soil is good. but a mile
south of it the sand hills begin. One
man in here has two whole sections
1880 acres. On one section he may be
able to get 200 acres of land to farm.
The remainder is sand, sand, sand Al
least thirty feet deep From Cairo t.
Howard principally sand hills with 4
few draws which can be cultivated
From Howard to Loup City, Sherman
county, we passed along the line of tn,
b. Il M. railroad Lots of sand along
here on the middle Loup, up the valley
of which this railroad runs.
1t has been very dry in sections o
this valley during the summer The
rain has fallen in streaks. One strip o.
country about midway between Howard
and Loup City was pretty well dried up.
Saw fields of oats that would not
average ten inches high. Fields of corn
where the leaves were curled up and
dying. One man wanted to sell out OF
account of this. After going on fol-
half days travel we struck some of as
fine corn and small grain as man
could wish. In fact the corn was tas
selling.
At Loup City We crossed tho new
branch of the Il & ". railroad up to Ord
North of Loup City at Arcadia they had
a hard rain storm accompanied with
hail further north
When we got into Custer county, after
passing Lees Park, the country was
rough, but as one man expressed it,
''anything under Gods heavens would
grow there" The wheat and oats are
very heavy. Wheat will yield from 20
to 80 bu. per acre. Cats from 40 to 60.
Corn 80 to Co. The rye harvest has be-
gun. Wages for harvest hands. 81. %
to $3.50 per day.
So far in passing through the country,
although it is rough, nearly every foot
of it can be broken. One man who trie;l
to pay for so acres at Mt. Lila anil
failed, came here aud for S257i got 49,
acres of AS fine land with sod house.
barns, we'll and 8 acres broken on it, as
ever lay out of doors was over his
land and there is not one foot of the 16C
but that can be broken. To-day he only
asks for the place $4,000, while the man
that ownes the 80 acres he left asks
ST 800 for it. | had rather have 40
acres out here than 100 of that back in
Wisconsin, but the trouble is all the
good government land, so far as have
been in the country, is taken. School
lands are plenty and can be obtained
reasonably, | understand. Water here
in Broken Bow can be got at a depth OF
II to 20 feet Get out here on the
divide and hills and you have to go from
20 to $50 feet. A man who has to %
over 100 feet for water had better leav,
her even if the land is good and q
where water can be more easily OBJ
tanned. There is noY a great rush from
here into Dawes county, claimed to b.
one of the finest regions in the state.
If visit it will write q full description
of what l see. We got to the Bow il
in time to celebrate in the afternoon.
VIII describe fireworks in my next
which may be from Wyoming as we in
tend to strike for that country Soon
A. L. RANKINs.
D., T,tIx- 1907